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Copy 1 rlE BERKSHIRE HILLS." 



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(Open June lOth,) 



'\YlLLIAMgTOWN, ^A33 



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STREETER & SWIFT, PROPRIETORS. 



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ADDRESS: 

rill June ist, NORTH ADAMS, MASS. 
After " " WILLIAMSTOWN, ' 



Times Print, Troy, N. Y. 



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"THE BERKSHIRE HILLS." 



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(Open June \oth,) 



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STREETER & SWIFT, PROPRIETORS 



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U. S. A, 



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Till June ist, NORTH ADAMS, MASS. 
After " " WILLI AMSTOWN, " 



Times Print, Truy, .\. V. 

7^1 V..V 




WILLIAMSTOWN 



THE scenery and climate of Berkshire County are widely 
known and appreciated. Those hill towns have long 
been a favorite resort for Summer tourists, and have fur- 
nished homes of rare beauty and healthfulness for retired 
business men and men of refinement and culture. The 
names of Lenox, Stockbridge, Pittsfield and Williamstown 
ha\c become household words, and the pulse of the tired 
denizen of the city beats with new life at the mere mention 
of these. Among the charming towns of the list, none sur- 
passes Williamstown ; and in the county. Northern Berk- 
shire outranks the rest, in the variety and boldness of its 
scenery, in the purity of the air, and in its marked contrasts 
of mountain and valley. 

Williamstown has been more and more sought each Sum- 
mer, although the accommodations for visitors have been 
\ery meagre. To meet an acknowledged want in the devel- 
o])ment of this town and the increasing business of this part 



(i GREY LOCK HALL, 

(if Berkshire, consequent upon the construction of the Hoosac 
Tunnel, the large and commodious hotel has been erected 
in Williamstown called 

GRE YLOCK I/A LL. 

' I ^HE central part of this house was built two years ago, 
-*- and during the last season was filled with guests. To 
meet the increasing demands, the capacity of the house has 
been, since the close of the last season, increased four-fold, 
so that it stands this Spring, as represented in the wood- 
cut, with a frontage of 165 feet and with accommodations 
for 250 visitors. The house and furniture are new and offer 
this season peculiar attractions. The house is lighted by 
gas and has the other modern conveniences, even to the tel- 
egraph connecting it with the business world. It is situated 
about a mile from the Williamstown station, on the Troy 
& Boston Railroad. A fine livery connected with the house 
renders the surrounding country accessible. Through the 
grounds runs a mountain trout stream which never fails ; 
and a beautiful grove of tall old pines by its side furnishes, 
with its seats and swings, a most attractive and charming 
retreat for old and young during the long days of Summer, 
when driving and trout-fishing are too laborious. From the 
grounds a view unsurpassed in the country is presented. 
The house is situated uj^on the Southern slope of the 



WIL L I A MS T O IVN. 



mountains forming the Northern boundary of the Williams- 
town valley, and the position commands the whole wide 
amphitheatre of that well-known and ever-praised valley. 
In front, looking across the valley and over the town with 
its beautiful churches and college buildings, about a mile 
distant, is the Saddle Mountain range or spur — the highest 
mountains in the state of Massachusetts — and there Pros- 
pect, Williams, Fitch and Greylock loom up in quiet gran- 
deur, never to be forgotten by one who has seen them. To 
the right the Taghanics, which divide Massachusetts from 
New York, stretch their scalloped and buttressed sides. 
The horizon is everywhere the wavy line of mountain sum- 
mits, varied at every point, while the valley of the Hoosac 
River, which here expands to the width of two and three 
miles, is in itself and in this setting one of rare beauty. 

SAND SPRING. 

AN additional attraction possessed by this hotel is a warm 
mineral spring, which determined the location of the 
house. This spring attracted, some years since, the atten- 
tion of Dr. Charles Bailey of Pittsfield, and having been 
employed for some patients of his with beneficial results, he 
conceived the idea of making it available for others. To 
Dr. Bailey is largely due the credit of the present develop- 
ment of this spring and the ample and complete accommo- 



8 GREY LOCK HALL. 

dations now afforded for guests. The waters of the spring 
are of nearly the same properties as the well-known Leba- 
non Springs, are of the uniform temperature of 74° Fahr., 
and have been found especially beneficial to persons afflicted 
with rheumatic and cutaneous diseases. Extensive bathing, 
houses have been erected adjacent to the hotel, making the 
waters of the spring serviceable to the visitors. 

SURRO UNDINGS. 

FROM Greylock Hall as the starting point, it is hardly 
possible to go amiss of pleasant excursions. The 
mountains tempt one to their summits by their nearness and 
by their easy ascent, and from them views of great beauty 
and extent are secured. From Greylock the Catskills can 
be seen on the West and Mts. Tom and Monadnoc on the 
East. " I know no place," says President Hitchcock in 
his Geological survey of the state, " where the mind is so 
forcibly impressed with the idea of vastness and even of 
immensity, as when the eye ranges abroad from this 
eminence." 

Then, the sides of the mountains, by which the valley is 
environed, have been cleft by mountain streams cutting deep 
gorges on whose sides moss-covered rocks tower, whose 
summits the lofty and primeval forests crown and hang 
over — all unmodified by the hand of man.. In these deep 



WILLI A MS TO WN. fl 

ravines are found many beautiful cascades and scenery of 
the wildest and most romantic character. 

Five miles away is North Adams, where is the Western 
portal of the Hoosac Tunnel — that triumph of engineering 
skill and perseverance — which, now after twenty years of 
experiment and labor, has overcome so much of the four 
and three-quarters miles of rock as to promise a speedy 
completion, and which, for its boldness of plan and great- 
ness of undertaking — being second only to that of Mt. Cenis 
— is to be more and more an object of world-wide interest. 

We cannot call attention in our space to the many objects 
of interest in the immediate neighborhood ; but if wild and 
romantic scenery, the sharp bold mountain, the craggy and 
precipitous cliff, the beautiful cascade, the gently winding 
river, pure air, health-giving fountains can add anything of 
attraction or interest to a place, then surely the country in 
the vicinity of Greylock Hall possesses those attractions. 

' ' Scenes of such beauty, varying in the light 
Of living nature, cannot be portrayed 
By words, nor by the pencil's silent skill, 
But is the property of him alone 
Who hath beheld it, noted it with care, 
And in his mind recorded it with love." 

DISTANCES AND ROUTES. 

From Troy, N. Y 43 miles. 

" Bennington, Vt 12 

" Pittsfield, Mass 20 

" Saratoga, N. Y 75 



10 



GREYLOCK HALL, 



Travelers from New York city can take the Hudson Riv- 
er steamers or the Hudson River R. R. to Troy, and thence 
reach the WilHamstown Station by the Troy & Boston R. 
R.; or by the Harlem & Housatonic Railroad to Pittsfield 
and thence by the way of North Adams. 

Travelers from Boston can come by the " Hoosac Tunnel 
Route " through Fitchburg, Greenfield, over the Hoosac 
Mountain ; or, those not desiring the mountain ride, by 
Springfield, Pittsfield and North Adams over the Boston «&: 
Alliany R. R. (See follcnving map.) 







WILLI A MS TO \VN. 



REFERENCES. 

WK have obtained permission to print the following- 
letter to one of the proprietors from Rev. Wash- 
ington Gladden, of the New York Tiidcpeiideiit : 

New York, March 6, 1S72. 

-l/r Dear 

1 am heartily glad that you have got possession of the old "Sand 
SiJring, " and that you are going on to place upon the ground a building 
of sufficient size to accommodate that increasing public which will de- 
mand entertainment at your hands. For tlie purposes of a summer 
hotel, I know no spot which surpasses this. It is convenient to the great 
centers of population ; it is out of the noise and the dust ; it affords to 
all who are fond of out-door life an unfailing assortment of mountain 
rides and forest rambles, and it commands a view of unmatched loveli- 
ness. The circle of hills which form the horizon are among the most 
beautiful that my eye has ever rested upon. In the sublimity which be- 
longs to magnitudes and distances— which arises at the sight of mere 
bulk or the signs of mere force, the White Hills or the Yo Semite Valley 
are, of course far richer than this region : but the beauty that attracts 
and charms the eye, the calmness that gives rest to the dazzled and dis- 
tracted sense, — the peace that at once restores and satisfies the soul have 
taken up their abode among your Berkshire hills. Such a sight as that 
ui)on which you look from your windows is good medicine for any tired 
citizen. The Hoosac Mountains far off to the left, the Greylock group, 
with Williams and Prospect in the foreground, and Bald Mountain sitting 
like a lion couchant, looking down into the hopper ; the ribbed and but- 
tressed Taghanics ranging themselves along the western horizon, and the 
Dome looming up in the north ; while Williamstown, with its colleges 
sits on its three hills in the centre of the scene— the picture is as vivid as 
if I had seen it but yesterday ; nor will it quickly fade from the memory 
of any one who has ever looked upon it. After a residence at different 
times of more than eight years in that neighborhood, I often find myself 
hungering in this brick and brown stone wilderness for a sight of those 
old mountains, and for a taste of the sweet air that bathes their forest 



12 GREYLOCK HALL, 



covered sides, and for the outlook tliat is so easy to be had from their fa- 
miliar summits. 

I believe that the region is destined to be as famous )'et as that of the 
English Lakes : and I hope that its growing fame will bring to you and 
Swift a harvest of greenbacks and golden opinions. If you succeed as 
well as you deserve to do, Greylock Hall will speedily need another en- 
largement. Always your friend, 

WASHINGTON GLADDEN. 

The following persons have also kindly given their con- 
sent to the use of their names as references : 

Prof John Bascom Williams College, Williamstown. ^hass. 

Prof A. L. Perry. ..,.. . 

John M. Cole, Esq 

B. F. Mills, Esq • South Williamstown. " 

John F. Arnold, Escj North Adams. 

Rev. Lewellyn Pratt 

Hon. S. Johnson " '" " . 

L. L. Brown, Esq South Adams, " 

Charles Bailey, M. D Pittsfield, " 

Rev. John Todd, D. D 

Gen. H. S. Briggs " 

J. L. Peck, Esq'. " 

W. C. Sturtevant, Esq Spi'ingtield, 

S. E. Bailey, Esq '' " 

Wni. M. Pomeroy, Esci Republican, '" '" 

Hon. Moses Kimball. Boston. 

H. S. Burdett, Esq 79 Franklin-St., 

T. B. Gaskill, Esq Revere House, " " 

Amos Barnes, Esq U. S. Hotel, " 

Sidney Sargent, Esq Sargent, Bros. & Co., " 

Adams Ayer, Esq 552 Harrison Avenue, " " 

John Webster, Esq Salem, " 

A. T. Elliott, Esq Providence, R. I. 

J. N. Bourn, Esq " " 

Theo. T. Barker, Esq ' ' 



i^Hb 



irjLLIAMSTOU'.V. V.'> 



Mrs. L)raper So Church-St., Hartford, Conn. 

Rev. C. R. Fisher 

Col. A. F. Willmartlt Home Ins. Co., 135 Broadway, New Vor 

.A. D. Selleck, Esq Banker, 37 Pine- St., '" 

W. D. Bowerman, I'-sq 29 William-St., " 

S. A. Sawyer, Esq 47 Rroad-St., " 

H. A. Titus, Esq Banker, 50 Exchange Place, " 

I. W. (ireen. Esq 66 Pierrepont-St., Brooklyn, N. Y. 

Miss Tluirston 62 

C. L. Hiibbell, M. D Troy, ■• 

Hon. Martin I. Townsend 

(ien. Hagner Watei"\'liet Arsenal, 

C. W. Moseley, Esq., Gen'l Sup't T. & B. R. R 

H. O'R. Tucker, Esq Tmies, •' 

C. C. Clark, Esq Press, " 

Mrs. John B. Kellogg 

Stillman Witt, Esq Cleveland, Ohio. 

B. F . Rouse, Esq 

Frank W. Grimes, Esq - Dayton, 

S. V. Kellogg, Esq Chicago, 1 11. 

A. W. Millard, Esq 

Capt. VV. D. B. Janes Montreal, Canada. 

W. B. McLaughlin, Esq Barnum's Hotel, Baltimore, Md. 

.Alexander B. Hagner, Esq Annapolis, 

J. M. Seixas, Esq 267 Esplanade-St., New Orlean.s, La. 

S. J. Filer, Esq Indianapolis, Ind. 

J. W. Knickerbocker, Esq Springfield, 111. 

Jewett Wilcox, Esq St. Louis, Mo. 

E. H. Cushnig. Esq Houston, Texas. 

Walter Hyslop Cairo, 111. 



f^f^S^*.-- 



14 



THE WILSON HOUSE, NORTH ADAMS. 



THE WILSON HOUSE. 

THE proprietors, Messrs. Streetp:r & Swift, have associated 
with themselves in the management of their hotel, the Wilson 
House, in North Adams, ^Ir. Albert R. Smith, under the firm of 
Streeter, Smith & Co. 




This hotel is to be this Spring thoroughly refitted and refurnished. It 
will have a balcony in front, be heated by steam, and in all resj^ects, put 
in complete order and made one of the best hotels in the State. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



014 079 672 4 



